A Quick Update

Blessed readers, do not fear . . . I have not abandoned my blog.  With all that has been going on in my life lately (most pressingly, trying to finish this pesky thing called a thesis), my attention has been diverted a bit.  Once graduation is behind me, I hope to return to blogging on a more regular basis.

What I've been up to over the last several weeks (besides trying to graduate!):

• Attending the bigger-and-better-than-ever 2011 Oxford Film Festival

• Seeing the legendary Leon Russell in concert at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, AL (and discovering the fabulous, Alabama-based guitarist Chris Simmons in the process - look him up!)

• Traveling back to Ole Miss for the 2011 Living Blues Blues Today Symposium

What I'm looking forward to over the next few weeks (besides graduation!):

• Attending the Railroad Revival Tour concert at Woldenberg Park in New Orleans (tour of the year, no doubt - SO stoked about this one!)

• Hopefully working on my second feature article for Living Blues (my first was "Daddy Mack Orr: A Time For Everything" in the October 2010 issue)

• Seeing Lucinda Williams for the first time at the NOLA House of Blues 

         • Hopefully finding gainful, full-time employment.  If you are a music-related media outlet, radio station, recording studio, or public relations firm, I am enthusiastic and have experience with print and social media; videography; and audio recording, editing, and engineering!

What I've been obsessed with lately:

• Mumford & Sons.  They had me at Grammy; folks, they really are that good.  Actually, I've been obssessed with this entire performance:

Marcus Mumford on Backing Dylan, Naked Songwriting and Why Arcade Fire Rule His World (Austin Scaggs, Rolling Stone)

Mumford & Sons' Ben Lovett Talks Fame, Fans And That Tick On His Bandmate (Miles Bennette-Eaton, justout)

• A possible fall reunion tour for Buffalo Springfield (OK, maybe this will be the tour of the year) . . .

Exclusive: Buffalo Springfield Plans to Reunite for Fall Tour (Patrick Doyle, Rolling Stone)

Buffalo Springfield Tour Slated for September (Richie Furay, richiefuray.com)

• Lucinda Williams' Blessed.  If you don't have it, run - don't walk - to get it.  You can thank me later.

Interview: A Conversation With The Legendary And Prolific Lucinda Williams (Chris Mateer, No Depression)

• Ruminating on Bob Dylan's upcoming 70th birthday and 50th anniversary as a Columbia Records recording artist . . .

with preparation and anticipation...Bob Dylan's 50th Anniversary (Easy Ed, No Depression)

In light of what took place in Wisconsin tonight, please also read Frostbite and Freedom: Tom Morello on the Battle of Madison (Rolling Stone).  And remember: If they can take away one group's collective bargaining rights, they can take away everyone's.

And last, but most certainly not least - rest in peace, Suze Rotolo. I've been reading her book, A Freewheelin' Time, which I find very inspiring, and I'd contemplated emailing her.  I wish now I hadn't waited.  Much more than just a beautiful face on an album cover, she was an extraordinary woman living in an extraordinary time, and I take these words of hers to heart:

"Greenwich Village bohemia exists no more.  It was the public square of the twentieth century for the outsiders, the mad ones, and the misfits.  Today all that remains are the posters, fliers, and signs preserved on the walls as a reminder of that bygone era when rents were cheap and New York replaced Paris as the destination for the creative crowd.

Those who feel they are not part of the mainstream are always somewhere, however.  Greenwich Village is a calling.  Though it is a concept now priced out of its physical space, as a state of mind, it will never be out of bounds.  In the end, like finds like: it doesn't matter whether there is an actual physical neighborhood or not.  A compelling and necessary idea will always find a place to plant itself. The creative spirit finds a way" (p. 365).

Thank you, Suze, for reminding me of that.  Whenever I start wishing I'd been born in time to see what you saw, I will remember that I've glimpsed - and even lived in - some Greenwich Villages of my own. Oxford, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana inspire and invigorate me every time I visit, and I've been lucky enough to spend extended periods of time in both places.  Whenever I start wishing that I'd been around to witness Dylan's liftoff into music history, I will remember that there are artists right here and now who are making exciting music - and who knows what future trails they may currently be blazing? And, most importantly of all, whenever I start wishing I'd come of age in the '60s, I will remember that I have dear friends similar to Ms. Rotolo herself - friends whose presence, thoughts, and lives have enriched my existence beyond place, beyond time, beyond words.  No matter how much I may joke to the contrary, I was born in the right place and time, and my own Greenwich Village - both corporeal and mental - is always within reach.

And thank you, blessed readers, for following this blog, and for your kind words - you know who you are.   I'll be back soon. xo